Reversed Blade, Reversed Fate
by MibuWolf
Summary: Everyone's aware that there are two sides to Himura Kenshin: the rurouni and the hitokiri... what if he met Kaoru while the Battousai was still in control?


Disclaimer: -copies something from the Official Book of Disclaimer-

Author's note: Wellwellwell, and here's the age-old question: What if Kenshin met Kaoru when he was in the Battousai mode? As for the answer…

…

Title: Reversed Blade, Reversed Fate

Chapter One: Disappearance-The End of A Legend

Some say that he was the greatest swordsman that ever lived in the history of Japan. Many would not deny that the very mention of his name alone could instill fear and anxiety in their hearts; for there was absolutely no doubt that not a single soul could escape the skillful and deadly blade of Hitokiri Battousai.

Amidst the chaos that was wrecked throughout Japan and bought harsh consequences on the helpless and the weak, a brave warrior rose from the endless death and conflict to fight alongside those who shared the same belief in paving the path toward a new future, an age where people could live safely in peace and harmony.

It was said that his abilities were unmatched; his training in the ways of the Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, taught to him by one of the most powerful swordsmen known to mankind, were known by no one else residing, walking or breathing in the bloody streets of Kyoto. Hi penetrating, glaring gaze alone was enough to send a hard-muscled, cold-looded murderer down on his knees in shock… and awe of his skills.

For Battousai could never be defeated, except in the wild fantasies of an ambitious, aspiring swordsman…but in such times, daydreams were considered nothing but the mere toying with the possible odds by the human mind; actually doing it by fighting the Battousai himself in the flesh was equivalent to gambling, putting your life on the line and throwing it away like dice.

With his sword, he carved the way of the new Meiji Era, a new government that believed they could rule Japan better than the people of the Tokugawa Era.

Hitokiri Batousai was a living legend in him. It wouldn't be fair to speak of him as a mere story told by aged nannies to scare young children, no it wasn't. Battousai was much more than castles bult in the air: his god-like speed, combined with his flawless way of wielding the blade was enough to transform him into Japan's top fighter and living hero.

Glory was to be found for whoever earned his title of "Hitokiri Battousai", and if the commoners had the slightest inkling of his daily existence amongst them, the streets of Kyoto would surely be cleared out within a single heartbeat, the entire population thrown in hysteria.

But the people of Japan never learned of his true, hidden identity. This was due to the fact that at the end of the Bakumatsu period, he simply disappeared, vanished into thin air itself, just like the thousands of lost souls taken amongst hundreds of others who died either fighting for their cause, or just struggling in the race for survival in times of ceaseless bloodshed. But all the same, the man known better as "Hitokiri Battousai" was wiped out from the face of the earth…

Or so it seemed.

Different individuals chose to believe that he was probably already dead, just another one taken away from the earth by the jaws of death, while others continued to play with the faint chance that Battousai just strayed away from the dark, brooding past in search of a better life, away from the guilt of the many lives he ended. Either way, the people of Japan, especially those who had witnessed the bloody horror and gore that overtook Kyoto in the time of the Bakumatsu, were somehow sufficiently grateful that a great terror had been put to an end and they could now live their lives in peace.

However… those who had a fleeting suspicion that Battousai was still alive and well may be right; they just don't have any idea who he really lives, not the slightest inkling of the one who lives behind the hidden mask of the cross-scar that made him known to the people of Japan.

His name is Himura Kenshin.

…

author's note: well, so much for an intro to another fic of mine… I still can't believe it's that short… only three pages when I wrote it in my notebook! Or is it because I've got really tiny handwriting?


End file.
